CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom and GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) is changing its name to MedImmune to reflect AstraZeneca's vision for its worldwide biologics business. The new business unit will unite the resources and expertise from CAT, the pre- existing MedImmune and other biologics activities within the AstraZeneca Group, under the "MedImmune" name. With this structure, AstraZeneca has immediately created one of the world's leading vertically integrated biotechnology businesses, with more than $1.3 billion in revenues in 2006, a pipeline of approximately 100 research projects and more than one dozen clinical product candidates, and more than 3,000 employees worldwide.

"The new MedImmune is now the operationally independent and strategically aligned biologics business unit of AstraZeneca," said David M. Mott, MedImmune president and chief executive officer. "Bringing together the biologics expertise of CAT, MedImmune and AstraZeneca allows us to preserve MedImmune's traditional biotech agility and entrepreneurial spirit while encouraging strategic collaboration and cross fertilization of ideas under AstraZeneca's world-class research umbrella."

As part of the integration, John Stageman, Ph.D., vice president of AstraZeneca biopharmaceutical strategic planning, assumes the role of interim site head in Cambridge. Dr. Stageman commented, "AstraZeneca's biologics capabilities have been enhanced significantly by the acquisitions of CAT and MedImmune to create a more robust, highly competitive and fully integrated biotechnology business. The scientific, technical and medical expertise that this team brings together is world class in discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing biopharmaceutical products."

AstraZeneca acquired CAT, a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing human monoclonal antibody therapeutics, in June 2006 with the intent to have biologics account for 25-percent of its product pipeline by 2010. In 2007, AstraZeneca accelerated achievement of this biologics strategy through the successful acquisition of MedImmune, a fully integrated biotechnology company and one of the world's ten largest within the industry,

About the New MedImmune

MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians and rewarding careers to employees. With approximately 3,000 employees worldwide and headquarters in Maryland, MedImmune is dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives and is wholly owned by AstraZeneca plc (LSE: AZN.L, NYSE: AZN). For more information, visit MedImmune's website at http://www.medimmune.com.